Chapter 1
How We Became Involved in Another World War
The events that propelled the United States into the war against Germany and brought forth the formation of the Anglo-American military coalition deserve mentioning. Hitler’s blitzkrieg attacks on European countries during the early 1940s resulted in the surrender of many of those countries and the installation of the ruthless Nazi-controlled governments. Benito Mussolini had united his might with the German forces, which was then known as the “Axis Powers.” This union formed the German-Italian Army. Many authors claim Mussolini had the desire to restore the Old Roman Empire, and his greed was being used by Hitler to achieve the objectives of the German forces.
The British Eighth Army was in a severe struggle against the German Panzer Divisions in Libya and Egypt. During May of 1940, the Germans attacked Belgium and entered France at the same time. France capitulated during June of 1940, and the Vichy Government, which was believed to be wholly collaborationist, was established. Material supply lines from France to North Africa were an advantage to the Germans. One of Hitler’s priorities was to establish material supply lines from France to North Africa through the Mediterranean ports to Nazi and Vichy Government troops fighting in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.
Hitler appeared to be obsessed with the desire to conquer all of the major nations of the world. It was a known fact that Hitler had plans for the invasion of the British Isles. However, with his armies being bogged down against Russia and the landing of American troops in the British Isles, he decided to postpone a ground war with England but kept up his air bombardment. Early in 1944, the Germans developed the V-2 rocket, which was 46 feet tall and carried a 14-ton missile with a 200-mile range. It carried a conventional warhead weighing one ton. When one of these landed in London, it resulted in the complete destruction of everything within a city block. I saw the results of one of these missiles and was amazed at the massive destruction.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the United States fleet in Pearl Harbor, and the declaration of war with Japan followed. This event started a worldwide war with the United States involved on two fronts.
A disturbing development was the fact that the French government was in disarray. Our intelligence services knew that French forces, which were loyal to the Germans, had set up well-equipped battle stations on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of North Africa from Morocco to Tunisia. It was also known that the French would be extremely resistant to a British invasion, but would be more tolerant of an American invasion, insofar as accepting an armistice. Therefore, publicity of British forces cooperating with the Americans was kept as quiet as possible during the early stages of the invasion.
General Charles de Gaulle had been assigned to the position of undersecretary to the Ministry of Defense and had escaped to England shortly before the Germans invaded France. He and Prime Minister Paul Reynaund, along with Winston Churchill, convinced President Roosevelt to present to Congress a need to declare war on Germany. In the meantime, de Gaulle and his staff formulated plans for the organization of a French fighting force to liberate France from the Germans. While in London, on June 18, 1940, General de Gaulle broadcast his famous speech to the people of France, requesting them to continue the fight for freedom and designated himself the head of the New Free French movement. On July 7, 1940, a French court-martial declared a death sentence to the general because of his loyalty to the Free French Movement.
Marshal Philip Petan, the eighty-four-year-old World War I veteran who was credited with great military skill during the battle of Verdun, was called from Madrid to be the vice premier of the Vichy Regime. Petan was not a Nazi follower, but was easily manipulated by the Germans.
